3. Tribe and Tribalism: The Trojan Horse of GCC States?

This chapter looks at the important role of the tribe in the modern history of the GCC. Tribes have been influenced by the sweeping developments that have influenced the region, including rapid modernization, the wars in the Gulf, the Arab Spring, and most recently, the GCC crisis. Al Kuwari claims that these events have tested the existence, structure, functionality and relevance of the tribe within the modern state and on the regional levels in multiple ways. In some cases, moreover, tribes have also been at the core of political challenges and crises facing the state. Not so long ago, the tribe was a central social, economic and political unit in Gulf communities, and it was even a core component in the process of state building in the modern state in the region. This chapter intends to answer whether the tribe has become the weak link? Or even worse, has the tribe become a Trojan horse that undermines the legitimacy and stability of the state?